To Be An Auror
by Pozagee
Summary: Severus and Harry have a discussion about jobs and the future. No slash. AU. OOC, i guess, since Snape's calm. But he has taken a calming draught...


"Mr. Potter. Remain after class," came a deep voice. Harry sighed wearily, not even bothering to give the man a glare. Ron and Hermione gave him the generic 'I feel sorry for you' look, before heading out with the rest of the class.

Harry wasn't sure what he could have possibly done to incur the wrath of the man, for he had not done anything since the Pensieve Incident of the previous year.

To be truthful, Snape and him had coexisted almost harmoniously throughout the year, so far, at least. Of course, seeing as Snape was teaching a class that Harry enjoyed, helped tremendously. Snape was actually a rather good teacher, if Harry were to be honest. Not even Neville was having the normal problems.

"You asked to see me professor?" Harry asked, as his teacher straightened up his desk.

Snape turned around, eyeing the boy carefully. "I was asked to talk to you. By Minerva," he explained.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Snape rubbed his forehead, as he sat down behind his desk. "Your head of house is bound and determined that you become an Auror-"

"As am I," Harry interjected.

"Don't interrupt. Anyway, she asked me to discuss extra classes and such with you."

Harry slowly pulled a chair up to sit in front of the desk. "And you are doing as she asked because..."

A small smile graced the man's lips. "The Headmaster has me under a new teaching... diet, I suppose."

"What?" Harry asked.

"A Calming Draught with every meal."

"Ah."

There was a short pause. "Mr. Potter... Why do you want to become an Auror?"

Harry shifted. "I want to fight bad wizards and witches and get them locked up."

Snape stared at him. "Why do you want to be an Auror."

Harry blanched. "I want to keep the people I love safe."

"Potter-"

"What do you want me to say?! I just told you!" Harry growled.

Snape looked at the boy, seemingly unfazed by the outburst. "Perhaps the truth?"

Harry stood, letting his anger take over. "I already told you the bloody truth!"

"Five points from Gryffindor for lying and cursing. Honestly Potter, do you expect me to believe that?"

Harry nodded, crossing his arms like a petulant child.

Snape sighed. "I was hoping you'd make this easy on me, but things are never easy with you, now, are they?" The teacher licked his thumb and index fingers before reaching into his desk for a piece of parchment. He then grabbed a quill and inkwell, poised to write.

"What were your favorite subjects in primary school?" he asked.

Harry jolted, before gaping at his professor. "Sir?"

"You attended Muggle primary school, did you not?"

Harry nodded an affirmative. "As I thought. Now. What were your favorite subjects?"

"I don't see how this will help me become an Auror-"

"Your answer, Mr. Potter?" Snape interrupted.

"Maths and Science," Harry answered shortly. Snape scribbled something down.

"What type of science?" the older man questioned.

"Chemistry," Harry murmured, dazed. If someone would have told him that he would be discussing his primary school with Snape, of all people, he would have personally got them a bed next to Lockhart's in St. Mungo's.

Snape got to the 'M', of 'Chemistry' before he stopped. "Mr. Potter." Harry looked up. "What, exactly, do you think Potions is?"

The boy blushed. "It's different."

The man gave him a bored look. "I think not. What do you take me for? An ignorant Pureblood?" Harry refrained from saying that that was EXACTLY what he was thinking. "Fine, fine. Did you have any extracurricular activities?"

"Why-"

"Just answer the question." Harry shook his head. And Snape was telling HIM to not interrupt.

"No. No, I didn't really do anything," Harry answered.

"All right. Your relatives... you weren't-aren't-spoiled. You did many a chore when you were young?"

Harry shifted. "Well, yeah... You saw my memories."

"Indeed. You seemed to be their personal slave, to put it lightly." Harry blushed. "You seemed to do a lot of the gardening and cooking. Did you enjoy that?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I liked the gardening. The cooking was fine, but I didn't really like to do it." Snape scrawled down 'gardening'.

"What classes do you enjoy here?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," was rattled off immediately. "I like Charms too." Snape paused.

"Your mother was very adept at Charms. Your father favored Transfiguration, though," he murmured, making nearly illegible notes.

"I don't really like Transfiguration. It requires too much... focus. I already have enough to focus on." Snape didn't comment.

"And your other activities here? Flying, of course."

"Yeah, flying. I like Wizards Chess, though I normally loose. Um... I like 'sneaking about,' as you call it. And... I don't know."

"Are you involved in Miss Granger's little club. SPAT, is it?"

"SPEW. And I was forced. I mean, I hate enslavement and all. The elves ARE practically brainwashed..."

"But it doesn't interest you," Snape concluded. Harry nodded, blushing.

"I feel bad, saying that..."

"Don't. I agree with Miss Granger, though hell would freeze over before I would join her ridiculous club." Harry chuckled, though mostly because his teacher had just cursed. 'He's really not setting a good example...'

"Well... what about that dueling club, last year?" Harry jumped from the chair he didn't even know he sat back down in.

"You knew?!" Snape rolled his eyes.

"Of course I knew. How do you think I kept my Slytherins away so long?"

"You were helping us?" Harry was baffled, for lack of better words.

Snape considered what he said. "The cause. No one was teaching you children how to duel. And, like it or not, that was and is something that needs to be taught wholly and thoroughly." Harry nodded his understanding.

"I guess... I mean, I hated the circumstances, but yeah, I did like teaching them."

Snape nodded, making his last note. The man stowed away his ink and quill, before reading over the parchment. After a moment, he spoke. "Tell me, Mr. Potter. Do you enjoy facing the Dark Lord and his Followers every year?"

Harry looked disgusted. "Uh, no! It's a blo-a nightmare!"

Snape nodded. "And you enjoy dueling, am I right?"

"Yeah, but not them! Like, I liked teaching the DA how to duel."

Snape just looked at him for a long time, before saying, "It seems you are very lacking in your definitions of things in the Wizarding World, Mr. Potter. What on Earth do you think an Auror does?"

'Oh.' "Well..."

"Look at this list Potter. These are your interests. Is there anything on there that says 'Fighting Evil Wizards'?"

Harry didn't respond.

Snape took a deep, calming breath. "Listen closely. If there is one thing that I have learned in my thirty-six years, it is that in order to be happy, you must do what you like to do... And you don't like to do what Aurors do everyday."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, before flattening it again.

"So tell me. Why do you want to be an Auror?"

"It is expected of me. My father was one. People are under the misconception that I am my father." Here, Harry sent Snape a pointed look.

"Yes... I have seen that you are indeed Harry, not James. Which is-"

"Which is why you are helping me." Harry looked up at his teacher, but the man was looking elsewhere. Harry was interested as to what caused this epiphany, but figured it could wait. "But what do you care what job I get?"

Snape then looked at Harry, as if sizing him up. "I do not want another person to be stuck in a job they despise for years on end, such as myself."

"You don't like teaching?" Well, that much was obvious to Harry. But the man had never outright said he hated teaching before...

"Oh no. I love teaching. I just immensely dislike teaching Potions." 'Ah, well that made sense.'

"So I ask you: What do you want to do with your life?"

And there it was. THE question. Harry hated that question now, ever since he heard the Prophecy, to be exact. "Survive."

Snape froze momentarily, before abruptly getting up and walking to the window. "Besides that?"

Harry felt some unnamed emotion radiating off his teacher, but he was unsure as to why. "I dunno. I'd like to teach, maybe. Possibly Defense, after you retire-"

Snape opened his mouth, before snapping it shut. The boy didn't need to know more than he had to. "Of course. Trying to kick me out, Potter?"

Harry jumped to his own defense. "No! I was just-"

"Calm down. You would be good at teaching. Is that what you truly want?"

For some reason, that made Harry feel a bit choked up. "Yeah. It really is."

Snape continued to stare out into the gloomy sky. "Then you may leave. I will see you soon, Mr. Potter."

"See you, Professor."


End file.
